Moving to DC Area from Westchester, NY, Want a Different Vibe...Where Should We Definitely Avoid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Commute? Where in Westchester did you live?

This area just doesn’t have the town centers like Westchester does. And lots tend to be small, so you may have to look around for .25 acres if that’s important to you.

OP here. What does the area have instead of town centers? Strip malls?

We were in the Rivertowns, but looked all over Westchester and talked to people in Scarsdale, Bronxville, Rye, Mamaroneck, etc and it all seems to be the same. One exception is White Plains - we like that vibe a lot.

We're flexible on budget, finding the right area to live is more important. If it's expensive, we can just buy a smaller house. Hoping to stay under a million but could go up to 1.2. Commute under an hour.

[Anonymous]

Rockville is a good idea. Silver Spring is a little closer in. College park is less expensive. A lot depends on where op is commuting to and if there are any specific ethnicity/religion/etc that she wants to have a lot of.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Commute? Where in Westchester did you live?

This area just doesn’t have the town centers like Westchester does. And lots tend to be small, so you may have to look around for .25 acres if that’s important to you.

OP here. What does the area have instead of town centers? Strip malls?

We were in the Rivertowns, but looked all over Westchester and talked to people in Scarsdale, Bronxville, Rye, Mamaroneck, etc and it all seems to be the same. One exception is White Plains - we like that vibe a lot.

We're flexible on budget, finding the right area to live is more important. If it's expensive, we can just buy a smaller house. Hoping to stay under a million but could go up to 1.2. Commute under an hour.

With this additional info I would say Rockville or close in Silver Spring. Pick whichever is better for your commute. People will say the Rockville schools are a bit better but I’m not so sure - but even if so the trade off is Rockville is farther out from DC amenities so think about if that trade off works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget? Commute? Where in Westchester did you live?

This area just doesn’t have the town centers like Westchester does. And lots tend to be small, so you may have to look around for .25 acres if that’s important to you.

OP here. What does the area have instead of town centers? Strip malls?

We were in the Rivertowns, but looked all over Westchester and talked to people in Scarsdale, Bronxville, Rye, Mamaroneck, etc and it all seems to be the same. One exception is White Plains - we like that vibe a lot.

We're flexible on budget, finding the right area to live is more important. If it's expensive, we can just buy a smaller house. Hoping to stay under a million but could go up to 1.2. Commute under an hour.

Rockville is all strip malls. They're trying to build it up but Rockville Town Center is struggling. Pike & Rose is a mixed use development, I wouldn't consider it a town. Bethesda and Silver Spring each have a down town -like city center. For under $1 million you can find something really cute and walkable to downtown Silver Spring. Look in 20910, elementary school is Woodlin

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m from Westchester and I live in Bethesda. I think you will find a tremendous amount of diversity here, it is quite multicultural and very educated. There is a lot to do, a lot of nature as well. It is close to DC also. Bethesda has many different areas, check out all of the different ZIP Codes: 20814, 20816, 20817.

Avoid Potomac like the plague, you will absolutely hate it.

My extended family live in Westchester and I agree with this. I do think that potomac has a lot of racial and ethnic diversity but no economic diversity (it is also far out of the city). Our county-based school system just does not create the same type of bubble as the small independent town systems that westchester has. If you want racial diversity and don't care about economic diversity Walter Johnson HS or Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS clusters would be a good area to target. If you want racial and economic diversity buy in-bounds for Blair HS (I'd look at houses zoned to Takoma Park MS.

Why are you moving and how old are your kids? My friends and family who live in westchester county seem to have almost private schools. If you are used to a town-based system, I doubt you will prefer our large county-based system. Schools are huge. Bureaucracy is huge. Most decision-making is made at the county level rather than school level so curriculum, etc. is very prescibed and one size fits all.

OP here. Economic diversity is important - that's a big reason we're moving. Kids are in elementary, and we really have not been impressed with the schools in Westchester, so I'm sure we'll be fine with the county-based system.

[Anonymous]

No to North Arlington. (I live here).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m from Westchester and I live in Bethesda. I think you will find a tremendous amount of diversity here, it is quite multicultural and very educated. There is a lot to do, a lot of nature as well. It is close to DC also. Bethesda has many different areas, check out all of the different ZIP Codes: 20814, 20816, 20817.

Avoid Potomac like the plague, you will absolutely hate it.

My extended family live in Westchester and I agree with this. I do think that potomac has a lot of racial and ethnic diversity but no economic diversity (it is also far out of the city). Our county-based school system just does not create the same type of bubble as the small independent town systems that westchester has. If you want racial diversity and don't care about economic diversity Walter Johnson HS or Bethesda-Chevy Chase HS clusters would be a good area to target. If you want racial and economic diversity buy in-bounds for Blair HS (I'd look at houses zoned to Takoma Park MS.

Why are you moving and how old are your kids? My friends and family who live in westchester county seem to have almost private schools. If you are used to a town-based system, I doubt you will prefer our large county-based system. Schools are huge. Bureaucracy is huge. Most decision-making is made at the county level rather than school level so curriculum, etc. is very prescibed and one size fits all.

OP here. Economic diversity is important - that's a big reason we're moving. Kids are in elementary, and we really have not been impressed with the schools in Westchester, so I'm sure we'll be fine with the county-based system.

Blair HS in Montgomery County. Very diverse - race, ethnicity and SES. A lot of well-educated immigrant families. Blair has one of the top math and science magnets in the country, in which “general ed” students can take the occasional class even if not admitted to the program. Mo Co also has application only MS and ES programs in the Blair school boundaries. Even the genera ed program is good at Takoma Park MS.

The neighborhoods directly around Blair have large-ish yards.

[Anonymous]

Virginia people: what would you say is VA’s closest analog to Silver Spring or Rockville? I’m guessing Falls Church, but I’d love to hear other ideas.

Basically the formula seems to be:
-outside the beltway, but not too far out
-some nearby urban areas with economic and ethnic diversity
-a substantial, but not hegemonic, population of educated people and the good schools that would accompany them

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sure, there's diversity and people who emigrated from all over the world. And became rich and are materialistic and just as self absorbed as any white Westchester clique. They're all over DC. Is that what she is looking for?

Takoma Park is her tribe. Hie there there and be happy in your bubble.

OP here. This is exactly it!! It's not real diversity if everyone is rich and living the same lifestyle. I hear people in Westchester saying all the time, "It's so diverse here!" Because they have a friend from South America and a friend from former USSR and a friend from France and a friend from China...but they all work in finance or law or consulting and live the same materialistic, competitive lifestyle. I really hope to escape this BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid Fairfax, Bethesda, and McLean based on your criteria. Maybe also Takoma Park — it is more diverse and crunchier but has a definite small town vibe.

For close in, I think Silver Spring could be a good fit for you, including the Kensington and Wheaton areas. In DC itself Brookland might also work, though schools can be challenging there (a lot of people do charters). But lots are bigger than elsewhere in DC. Upper Northwest is a possibility, but it may be whiter and cliquier than you’d like.

Why Fairfax? It's actually one of only good options in NOVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would avoid Fairfax, Bethesda, and McLean based on your criteria. Maybe also Takoma Park — it is more diverse and crunchier but has a definite small town vibe.

For close in, I think Silver Spring could be a good fit for you, including the Kensington and Wheaton areas. In DC itself Brookland might also work, though schools can be challenging there (a lot of people do charters). But lots are bigger than elsewhere in DC. Upper Northwest is a possibility, but it may be whiter and cliquier than you’d like.

Why Fairfax? It's actually one of only good options in NOVA

Maybe you meant Fairfax as a whole county??

[Anonymous]

OP, the good news for you is that there are no distinct towns here so you are not as enclosed in a bubble as you are in Westchester. Many school pyramids pull from a wide geographic area so it's hard to find an area that is exclusively lily white (with the exception of the Whitman and Churchill pyramids in Bethesda/Potomac). There's also just a lot more diversity in the area. I have family and many friends in Westchester, mostly in Bronxville, Pelham and Rye, so I know what those are like and there is really so similar vibe here.

[Anonymous]

Based on all the info you've given us, your best bets are Kensington or Silver Spring. Everywhere else mentioned in this thread is either above your price range, too far out or not very diverse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Virginia people: what would you say is VA’s closest analog to Silver Spring or Rockville? I’m guessing Falls Church, but I’d love to hear other ideas.

Basically the formula seems to be:
-outside the beltway, but not too far out
-some nearby urban areas with economic and ethnic diversity
-a substantial, but not hegemonic, population of educated people and the good schools that would accompany them

Fairfax or Alexandria. I'm from SS too. Alexandria is like inner beltway SS, Fairfax like outer beltway SS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No to North Arlington. (I live here).

I'm curious to hear more about Arlington. A friend is planning to move there because it's close to DC, more urban feel with things to do, and she says it's diverse and not snobby. But it hasn't been mentioned much on this thread one way or the other.